Broken Wing
by Earth Star
Summary: Bunnymund would greatly like to have words with whatever great divine being that decided Jack Frost should be born with wings! The little twerp was annoying enough with his snowballs and unpredictable blizzards! Why did the kid have to have wings that could produce icy breezes when he flapped too!


Author's Note: It's Jackrabbit week on tumblr, so I ended up writing this fic for it. Today's prompt was Winged AU so I wrote this.

 **Broken Wing**

Some humans were born with wings, and some weren't. Bunny had to admit when he crashed landed on this planet that was not the evolution he had expected humanity to take, but it did. Granted, despite some of the humans having issues about it, Bunny never minded it.

He seen a variety of alien species back in his day, and that wasn't including the different kinds of spirits that existed on Earth currently. So, for the last few centuries, Bunny didn't pay it much mind except he got to watch some winged ankle bitters fly around for fun and he felt some joy seeing such innocence.

However, he would greatly like to have words with whatever great divine being that decided Jack Frost should be born with wings! The little twerp was annoying enough with his snowballs and unpredictable blizzards! Why did the kid have to have wings that could produce icy breezes when he flapped too?!

Bunny had never been so tempted to bang his head against the wall the day the kid was chosen to be a Guardian.

But then, they had the battle with Pitch and Bunny found himself seeing another side of Jack he hadn't before. The snow spirit was a natural prankster, but he truly did care about the children. He was worthy of being chosen as a guardian.

Did that stop Bunny being annoyed when Jack would, on purpose, choose to sit next to him at meetings just to 'accidentally' brush his cold wings at him? Not by a long shot!

And then there were the hug attacks! Jack would wrap his freezing feathers around Bunny claiming he was 'warming him up'.

The others always seemed amused by it. Although, Tooth was enthusiast about Jack joining the moment it was announced. Apparently his snow white teeth and feathers were famous among her and her fairies.

Bunny, if asked, would reluctantly admit Jack's white wings were a sight to behold. Instead of snow, they reminded Bunny of white eggs right before they were ready to hatched and unleashed new life upon the world.

So, the day he saw Jack sitting next to his pond with his wings covered in mud and one bent in a very unnatural way, Bunny felt as if he'd been suckered punched.

Jack didn't seem to realize he was there as he was trying to use snow to wash off the mud, until he gazed up.

He blinked and tilted his head in confusion. "Bunny?" he asked as he rose and grunted as he leaned against his staff. "What are you doing here?"

Bunny cursed as he instantly raced over. "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL HAPPENED TO YOU?!" he asked stunned as he checked Jack over.

From what he could tell, nothing else seemed broken- Oh, wait. Jack was favoring his right leg? Did his leg get injured too?

Jack wiggled out of his grasp and nearly stumbled, but his grip on his staff kept his balanced. "WHOA! Calm down! I'm fine!" he exclaimed.

"You are clearly not fine," Bunny hissed as he forced Jack to look at him. "What happened?"

Jack sighed and as he rubbed his eyes. "I got into a fight with a few summer spirits and I ended up having a very hard crash landing."

Bunny frowned. "Didn't the wind catch ya?"

From how Jack explained it before, the wind had always been right there to catch Jack and avoid such a thing.

"One of the spirits had a wind blocking amulet," Jack said darkly. "Thought it be REAL funny to see me smash into the dirt."

Bunny scowled, and made two mental notes

One, have a talk with North later. If there was something out there that could block Jack's wind, that wasn't good. Best to find ways to prevent that.

Two, hunt down said summer spirits to make it clear what happened when they messed with one of the Guardians because this was not funny.

"You don't have to punch anyone, Bunny," Jack commented as he narrowed his eyes. "Despite how I look, I did give them a good amount of bruises in return." He gave a smirk. "Not to mention a good dose of frostbite they'll be feeling for the next few months."

Bunny didn't feel as satisfied, but he take Jack's word for it for now. Gingerly he poked at the bent wing.

"Can ya move it?" Bunny asked.

Jack grimaced. "A bit, so I don't think it's broken, but no way I can fly."

Bunny nodded as he tried to wipe some of the dry mud off of Jack's cheek. "Want me ta take ya ta North's place?"

Jack cringed and shook his head. "Please, don't. North means well, but he and Phil will fuss over me like crazy and I rather recover in some place..more quiet."

Bunny gave an understanding nod. "How about my my Warren?" he offered. "Should be quiet enough for ya ta mend there."

Jack's eyes widened. "Really? You certain?" He lowered his gaze and the grip on his staff tightened. "I..didn't think you want me there."

Bunny choked, surprised by the assumption. "What? Why?"

Jack chewed his bottom lip and hide his face in his muddy, non-bent wing. "Because of what happened at Easter."

Bunny flicked his ears at that. It suddenly dawned on him that he hadn't invited Jack back to his Warren since last Easter. Bunny liked his privacy, but since then he had tried to make it known the other Guardians were welcome there anytime.

Guess I should have been more direct with Jack, he thought as he frowned. He sighed as he ran a hand over his ears.

"I don't have a problem with ya in the Warren," he told Jack.

Jack poked his head out. "Really?"

Bunny sighed. He really did kick himself for how he had reacted at that, especially after Jack told him of how Pitch had tricked him. "Look..I..was more harsh on ya than I should have been," he said. "We shouldn't have jumped ta conclusions, but I was too upset ta think straight and I took it out on ya."

Jack's eyes hardened. "You had a right to be upset."

Bunny shook his head. "Yeah, but I should have known better, and I'm sorry for that." He rubbed his eyes. "Anyway, point is. I forgive ya and yer welcome in the Warren anytime." He shook a finger at him. "That is as long as ya don't go freezing my plants on purpose that is."

Jack tilted his head and then gave a small chuckle as the feathers on his wings ruffled with him. "Sure, Cottontail, I can do that."

"Ya better," Bunny said as he thumped his foot and offered his back to Jack. "So, let's go get ya fixed up then, shall we? Since ya can't fly, probably better if I carry ya."

"Okay," Jack said as he wrapped his arms around his neck. "Just take it easy, okay? I rather not have two injured wings here."

Bunny gave a nod before he dived into the hole.

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Bunny finished filling up the bathtub with warm water before he turned around to look at Jack.

"Alright, Mate," he said as he set the soap bottle and and cloth to the side. "Why don't ya strip and then I'll give ya a hand bathing."

Granted, he knew it was going to be difficult with Jack's hurt wing, but it would be worse to mend it without cleaning it first.

Lines formed in Jack's forehead. "Okay, but I can wash myself," he stated. "I'm not a little kid."

Bunny sighed. "No, but yer hurt and you're goin' ta need an extra pair of hands ta help ya, especially for ya wings."

Jack pouted as he fingered one of his feathers that had dried mud on it. "Yeah..okay, fine," he said as he set his staff aside. "Let's just get this over with it."

Bunny gave a nod as he scooted over. "Need help taking yer sweater off?," he asked. "Frankly, I never understood how yer able to wear that with your wings."

Jack gave a sly smirk. "Slits in the back so that I can unbutton and slip my wings through," he boasted. "Was the latest fashion back in the 80s when I found this thing." He gave a sheepish smile. "Although, will admit it's easier to have someone unbutton it for me to take it off."

"I see," Bunny said as he moved around and saw the said buttons Jack described. "Just be a tic," he said as he went to unbutton it.

Jack remained still as the flap dropped and Bunny began to carefully pull the sweater over the boy's head. The hardest part was trying to ease Jack's injured wing out without making it worse.

He heard Jack give a quiet wince as the wing was pulled through, but it was quick and within an eyeblink the sweater was off. Jack's clothes were rapidly taken off after that, and within a few minutes, Bunny was assisting the frost spirit into the tub.

Bunny watched Jack's expression as he slipped into the water and gave a hiss of breath as his lower body went under the water.

"Yer alright?" Bunny asked. "Not too hot is it?"

Jack shut his eyes and shook his head. "No, it's fine," he said. "I wouldn't like it any hotter, but it's fine for bathing."

Bunny nodded as he reached for the bottle of soap and a washcloth. He passed an extra washcloth to Jack.

"Ya might as well wash yer front and hair," he instructed, "I'll take care of yer back and then yer wings."

Jack gave a slight blush, but said thanks as he took the cloth. Bunny then lathered up the soap and proceeded to wash the boy's back. The mud had dried, and it took a few tries to scrub it off, but piece by piece Bunny removed it.

During this, Jack washed his chest and when asked Bunny handed him the shampoo bottle to wash the mud out of his hair. Once that was complete, next came the most grueling task of getting the mud off Jack's wings.

"Gonna start tacklin' yer injured wing, Mate," Bunny warned as held a strand of feathers. "Will be as gentle as I can here."

"Thanks for the warning," Jack replied as he finished rinsing out his hair. "By the way, you never did tell me why you were at my pond."

"Jamie and Sophie contacted me," Bunny replied as he began to wash off the mud. "Ya hadn't showed up for Jamie's flyin' lesson and he got worried."

Jamie was the only winged person in his family, and over the past months Jack had taken the kid 'under his wing' quite literally. He'd soon become Jamie's favorite flying instructor, and from what Jamie told him Cupcake and Monty were also eager to learn from him.

Apparently, Jack was way more entertaining as a flying instructor than the winged teachers at their school.

Jack frowned and then squeezed his eyes shut as he groaned. "Oh man, right, I forgot all about that." He ran a hand through his hair. "I'll have to apologize later."

Bunny scoffed and he rinsed and switch to another feather. "Ya got attacked, I think they'll forgive ya."

Jack gave a sigh as he went to wash his arm. "Yeah, you're probably right."

"I know I'm right," Bunny replied with a smirk.

They sat in silence as the Pooka continued to work away at the wings while Jack wash the rest of himself. As Bunny rinsed the wings he was beginning to doubt he would ever be done, but eventually he got the last speck of mud off.

Bunny wiped his forehead with his paw. "Phew, done. How about you, Frostbite?"

"I'm done too," Jack said as he poked at his feet. "And I'm fairly certain my toes have turned to prunes at this point."

Bunny chuckled as he reached into his closet for a spare towel. "Alright, next step is ta dry ya off and then I'll bandage yer wing." Bunny also made certain to snag the extra blanket. "Then, we'll get ya decent and I'll groom yer wings a bit?"

Jack tilted his head in confusion as he climbed out of the tub. "Groom? Why? My wings are fine."

Bunny scoffed. "Some of them are rather scruffy lookin'," he said as he grabbed his medical supplies. "Bettin' it's been awhile since ya had a proper groomin'."

Jack rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms. "Well, yeah, it's rather hard to groom things attached to your back," he said as he pointed. "And it's not like I had anyone who could help me."

Bunny winced as he clutched his supplies to his chest. Jack's eyes suddenly became wide and round like his brain finally realized what he said.

"Um..that's not your guys' fault though," Jack stammered. "I mean, you didn't know-"

"Still doesn't make it right we left ya alone," Bunny replied with his voice full of regret. "We are sorry about that."

And he meant it. Bunny had always assumed Jack lived day to day carefree with nothing weighing him down. However, it was only recently the Guardians realized how hard it had been for the boy to be on his own.

Jack shrugged as he gave a soft smile. "Hey, well you're making up for it by being here now right?" he said and then turned his back to point at his wings. "So, let's get my wings fixed and groomed, okay."

Bunny offered a small smile as he handed Jack the blanket. "So, figure best way ta handle that is for ya to lay out on her stomach on the guest bed."

"Makes sense," Jack said with a nod and then blushed. "Um..but don't suppose you have an extra pair of pants laying around?" He gestured to his still mud covered pants. "Mine are still dirty and I would feel a bit more decent if I had a pair on."

Bunny frowned and then snapped his fingers as he reached into a nearby drawer. "Here," he said as he handed over a pair of large pants and a belt. "They'll be a bit baggy on ya, but should fit with the belt. They're the emergency pair I keep on hand for North."

Jack took the belt, but then tilted his head. "Why do you have emergency pants for North?"

"Eggnog incident of 78, long story," Bunny explained as he lead the way to his guestroom. "Will tell ya the details later, just follow me."

Jack gave a pout, but shrugged as he followed.

Bunny lead into his guest room which consisted of a regular size human bed. Truth be told, Bunny rarely used it and was just grateful he had remembered to dust it recently.

Once they had entered, Bunny gave Jack a hand getting his pants on and then gently set him on the bed. Jack stretched out on his stomach and immediately buried his face into the pillow.

"Mmm," he said as his good wing flapped a little. "Smells like lavender."

Bunny chuckled as he pulled up a chair next to the bed. "Glad ya approve, now try ta remain still while I groom ya."

For once, Jack did as he was told and Bunny began to groom the injured wing. He was limited on what he could do since pulling the wing the wrong way would hurt, but it looked more feathery and fluffy by the end. Bunny gently took the bandages and wrapped them around the wing.

Jack gave a content sigh. "That does feel better," he said.

"I'll bet," Bunny commented as he moved his chair to the other side of the bed. "Ya know, in future if ya want ta see me ta help groom yer wings again, I don't mind."

Jack flopped the side of his head on the pillow. "Yeah? That..would be nice actually."

"In exchange though," Bunny replied as he began the second wing, "ya groom me back."

It was hard for him to brush his own back. Having someone else do it would be handy. Tooth had done it for him a few times, but she was so swamped with her work, Bunny didn't feel right taking her away from that.

Jack giggled with his eyes still shut. "Get to brush your furry butt? Sure, sounds like fun."

Bunny shook his head, and they returned to the silence until the Pooka heard a light snore. His ears twitched as he glanced and saw Jack had fallen asleep. He gave a wistful smile.

"With yer injuries, sleep is probably the best medicine," Bunny whispered under his breath.

He silently finished up the wing, and then once he was done he reached for the blanket. Jack barely stirred as Bunny tucked him in and then patted his head.

"Sleep well, Mate," Bunny said as he rose and left to let the kid sleep in peace. He stood at the doorway to steal one more glance at Jack's snowy white wings. He had to admit, they were indeed a sight to behold.


End file.
